Chapter 88: The Eight Melodies of the Heavenly Demon

For more than a decade, the Demon Zither had remained in Huang Xuemei’s possession.

Over all those years, Huang Xuemei had already cultivated the Demon Zither’s exclusive art, the Eight Demonic Melodies, to an exceedingly profound level.

On top of that, after consuming the Essence of Flora and Trees, her own strength had risen even further.

Her inner power had surged dramatically. If she were to wield the Demon Zither now, then in this world, even the arrival of many more masters would be useless.

With sufficient power behind it, the might unleashed by the Demon Zither stood at the very pinnacle of the martial world.

As the zither flew into the great hall, Huang Xuemei, clad in a robe of red and black, also glided inside.

After sweeping her gaze around the hall, she said calmly, “Seems everyone is here.”

“Who are you? Hand over the Demon Zither.”

“Give the zither up.”

The people present did not believe Huang Xuemei could contend against them all alone, and so they appeared rather overconfident.

“If you want the Demon Zither, come and take it.”

The moment Huang Xuemei’s voice fell, a chorus of zither tones rang through the hall. Upon hearing them, some of the weaker among them immediately coughed up blood and died on the spot.

“The Eight Demonic Melodies!”

The leading figures of the six great sects hurriedly circulated their inner power to resist the surging music.

Yet what filled them with despair was that the zither’s sound did not weaken in the slightest; instead, it lashed at their true energy like a life-stealing lock, frantically eroding it.

The music grew more and more fierce. One by one, the people present began coughing up blood, and then they burst apart and died.

In no time at all, Huang Xuemei, whose power had now surged to great heights, used the Demon Zither to wipe out every member of the six great sects in the entire hall.

Even those who held out to the very end were blown to pieces.

The sight was nothing short of ghastly.

Inside the hall, the music ceased.

And the entire hall sank into a deadly silence.

Yet Huang Xuemei, the one who had orchestrated all of it, remained utterly calm.

With a faint blur of movement, she and the Demon Zither flew out of the hall and vanished in the blink of an eye.

A day later, beside a scenic stream, Dongfang Bai, the martial alliance leader in white robes, was leisurely playing a qin.

But the melody was filled with irritation and unease.

At that moment, a zither cut through the dense forest and flew straight toward him.

Seeing it coming, Dongfang Bai’s expression tightened. He sprang to his feet at once, his inner power surging as he caught the zither in his arms.

“The Demon Zither!”

Looking at the instrument, Dongfang Bai’s eyes lit with joy.

Then he turned solemnly and looked around.

“Didn’t you always want the Demon Zither? Very well, I’ll give it to you now.”

Huang Xuemei’s figure appeared instantly before Dongfang Bai, gazing at him from a distance.

“You are Huang Dong’s daughter.”

“You guessed right, though sadly there’s no reward.”

Hearing this, Dongfang Bai did not delay. He immediately circulated his power and used the Demon Zither to attack Huang Xuemei.

With a sharp hum, the instant Dongfang Bai tried to wield the Demon Zither, he was struck by a violent backlash from his own power.

The recoil inflicted severe internal injuries on him.

“You’re not meant to use the Demon Zither like that.”

Huang Xuemei gave a cold smile, and the Demon Zither that had been in Dongfang Bai’s hands flew out at once and landed in hers.

“Let me teach you properly.”

A deep hum echoed out. Ringed by the zither’s tones, Dongfang Bai was instantly plunged into an illusion.

In his vision, the world around him had become a vast white expanse.

Then, from within the fog of that white space, one white blade after another flew straight toward him.

Dongfang Bai had no time to evade them. In an instant, he was pierced through the body.

“It’s all over.”

As the music faded, Huang Xuemei departed swiftly, leaving only Dongfang Bai’s corpse behind in that tranquil stretch of forest.